One Hundred Thousand Times Over
by Pr-anx
Summary: Daxter liked to think his life was cursed. Not only by the small amounts of dark eco still running through his veins, or by the fact he could never leave his best friend no matter how crazy their lives got -but because he was technically a god amongst men. It was because of this small problem he was now standing beside a cluster of graves in the middle of the ruins of Haven.


This fic is the reason why I'm not allowed to listen to Muse while trying to write happy stories. Dedicated to all my fellow Jaxter fans and my followers. I hope you guys like this. Also, this is a work of _fiction, _and therefore is not what happens in the JAD series. Thusly, if you send me a flame about it not being cannon, I will just laugh.

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Daxter liked to think his life was cursed. Not only by the small amounts of dark eco still running through his veins, or by the fact he could never leave his best friend no matter how crazy their lives got -but because he was technically a god amongst men. It was because of this small problem he was now standing beside a cluster of graves in the middle of the ruins of what used to be Haven City.

The others had told him it would be easy to live forever -that it was just another perk to being a precursor; and, of course, the idea did have its merit. Orange Lightening living forever, having people falling at his feet in worship and devotion.

Even after he'd changed back into a human the idea was there, happily sitting at the back of his mind. But it wasn't a popular idea anymore, mostly due to him falling in love.

Jak was his first love, the one he'd want to spend eternity with.

It was with him, Daxter finally found someone who would not only protect and love him, but let him live his own life as well. It was because of that danger-prone, arrogant, brazen, and very much loving man, that he was the person he was today.

It seemed everything was going great until Jak's age started catching up with him. It was those few white hairs and the slowly deepening wrinkles that served as both a warning and a reminder of what was to come. But, it was only after the blonde had started to slow down that Daxter realized what they had would be coming to an abrupt stop sooner than he'd imagined or hoped. Then, Jak's memory started to go, and with it most of their romance.

As Jak aged into his nineties, Daxter stayed the same -never ageing, never growing, never even obtaining a single white hair or wrinkle, and it started people talking. It also got Jak's enemies thinking they had a chance to finally get his revenge on the aged hero, leaving up to Daxter to defend him during the trying times when they tried to take advantage of his failing health.

But then came the cough that left Jak near breathless, scaring Daxter into tears. The coughing soon lead to a deeper sickness that would later take the blonde's life.

Jak had gone quietly in his sleep, cuddled in Daxter's embrace as the red head whispered 'I love you's, making the beautiful, sun-filled morning in the middle of spring the worst day in Daxter's life.

After the hero's death, Daxter moved back to Kras to be away from the years of memories, only to return half a year later at the news of Keira's death from a stray bullet during a gang war. Then, another year later for Torn and Ashelin's -they'd died during a bandit raid near Spargus. Twenty years later, everyone he knew was gone -even Samos.

Fifty years later, Spargus and Haven waged war on each other, destroying not only Haven, but Spargus as well, leaving only a third of their population alive.

Now, after all these years since then, he was alone.

Haven City had long-since fallen to ruin, the collapsed walls letting in the rest of the world, the barren streets cracked and fallen in, the buildings withered and unsafe -most of which were even too far gone for even the most desperate or adventurous rodents.

Finally, after an immeasurable amount of time, the three precursors returned. They were stunned at what had become of the world since their departure, unable to understand how and why everything had gone against their 'galactic orders'. Haven was never meant to be destroyed. Spargus was never meant to attack. People were not supposed to have been killed. They told him how it was a gift to live forever, to have the time to gain knowledge and make yourself into the higher being you were meant to be.

"I don't care about any of that, you stupid rats!" Daxter yelled, eighty years of anger and frustration finally bubbling over. "I'm alone now, thanks to your 'gift'. Everyone died; everything was destroyed -so what if it wasn't supposed to happen! It DID." The ottsels looked to each other, then back at the sobbing red head. "I'm alone now. I lost my family, my friends, Hell! Everyone I know died over 70 years ago!"

There was a quiet moment of thought between the three, before they turned to him.

"We can only give you the power to do one thing -be it rebuilding, repopulating, or death; It is up to you what you do with this power."

"I…I just want everything back." He said through his tears. "I just want my friends back. I want Jak back. I want my life back."

When they didn't respond, Daxter looked up. But they weren't there.

Instead of rubble and sparse grass and grave stones, there were streams of light shining through dark green curtains, and grey shag carpeting, and Jak's trophy case. Then, there was the warmth of someone's arm going around his shoulders, and a voice shushing him and telling him to lay back down what's the matter? He ignored the voice's commands, instead, turning to the worried -yet half asleep- Jak.

Daxter nearly knocked the blonde's breath out from the force of his pounce. Jak said nothing as he held the crying red head closer, trying to comfort the suddenly distraught man.

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asked as Daxter finally calmed. Daxter nodded, face pressed into the crook of the older man's neck. He snuggled closer as Jak gently ran his fingers down the red head's arm soothingly. "What was it about?" Jak asked, moving his fingers up into Daxter's hair.

But Daxter couldn't remember the dream. He couldn't remember why he'd been so sad when he'd woken up, or why he'd been so surprised and excited to see Jak's face, to hear his voice and feel his warmth beside him.

"I don't remember." Was all he could say as he racked his brain for answers. The other man chuckled, eyes closing from the exhaustion of being woken up so suddenly.

"I must have scared it away then." He said with a yawn. "Damas used to tell me that if a loved one comforts you as soon as you awake from a nightmare, it goes away." Jak continued after seeing Daxter's confused look. Daxter smiled.

"Sounds like a smart man." He received another chuckle and a kiss on the forehead before the soft breathing of the man next to him told him Jak had fallen asleep. He felt his own eyes closing after another moment, his own exhaustion finally catching up with him.

Up above, silently hovering above the earth, the three precursors were crowded around a small, mirror-like object, watching the scene between the two lovers.

"This scene will play over a hundred thousand times before we finally have to move on to another planet. It will never get easier watching him lose his mind during those years apart from his loved ones." The ottsel leader said, sadly sighing and turning away to stare into the vast emptiness of space. One hundred thousand moments of insanity and emotional torture and heartache. He didn't know which was worse; experiencing it, or watching it happen so many times over. "The only thing that would stop this horrible cycle would be Daxter moving on, finding love in someone else." Slim chances were often heartbreaking, crippling even, but they had to be taken when they came.

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Whew! I think that's the most depressing thing I've written in a while. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews keep the Jaxter flowing!


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